Attachment15_EVER_Foundation_Document.pdf

Foundation Document Everglades National Park Florida October 2017

NATIONAL PARK SERVICE • U.S. DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Attachment 16

COASTAL

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DEVELOPMENT ZONE

AGRICULTURAL AND RURAL

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Freshwater Slough

Freshwater Marl Prairie

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Ecosystems Color Key and Legend

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EVERGLADES

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Everglades NP Loop Road Education Center

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Hole in the Donut

Flamingo Visitor Center

Chekika

Sandfly Island

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Shark Valley Visitor Center

NPS Headquarters

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Royal Palm Visitor Center

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Contents Mission of the National Park Service 1

Introduction 2

Part 1: Core Components 3

Brief Description of the Park 3 Park Purpose 6 Park Significance 7 Fundamental Resources and Values 9 Other Important Resources and Values 11 Interpretive Themes 12

Part 2: Dynamic Components 13

Special Mandates and Administrative Commitments 13 Special Mandates 13

Administrative Commitments 15

Assessment of Planning and Data Needs 15 Analysis of Fundamental Resources and Values 16

Analysis of Other Important Resources and Values 35

Identification of Key Issues and Associated Planning and Data Needs 40

Planning and Data Needs 41

Part 3: Contributors 47

Everglades National Park 47 NPS Southeast Region 47 NPS Denver Service Center – Planning Division 47 Other NPS Staff 47 Photo Credits 47

Appendixes 48

Appendix A: Enabling Legislation and Legislative Acts for Everglades National Park 48

Appendix B: Inventory of Administrative Commitments 71 Appendix C: Basics for Wilderness Stewardship 76 Appendix D: Past and Ongoing Park Planning and

Data Collection Efforts 86

The arrowhead was authorized as the official National Park Service emblem by the Secretary of the Interior on July 20, 1951. The sequoia tree and bison represent vegetation and wildlife, the mountains and water represent scenic and recreational values, and the arrowhead represents historical and archeological values.

Everglades National Park

Mission of the National Park Service The National Park Service (NPS) preserves unimpaired the natural and cultural resources and values of the national park system for the enjoyment, education, and inspiration of this and future generations. The National Park Service cooperates with partners to extend the benefits of natural and cultural resource conservation and outdoor recreation throughout this country and the world.

The NPS core values are a framework in which the National Park Service accomplishes its mission. They express the manner in which, both individually and collectively, the National Park Service pursues its mission. The NPS core values are:

· Shared stewardship: We share a commitment to resource stewardship with the global preservation community.

· Excellence: We strive continually to learn and improve so that we may achieve the highest ideals of public service.

· Integrity: We deal honestly and fairly with the public and one another.

· Tradition: We are proud of it; we learn from it; we are not bound by it.

· Respect: We embrace each other’s differences so that we may enrich the well-being of everyone.

The National Park Service is a bureau within the Department of the Interior. While numerous national park system units were created prior to 1916, it was not until August 25, 1916, that President Woodrow Wilson signed the National Park Service Organic Act formally establishing the National Park Service.

The national park system continues to grow and comprises more than 400 park units covering more than 84 million acres in every state, the District of Columbia, American Samoa, Guam, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands. These units include, but are not limited to, national parks, monuments, battlefields, military parks, historical parks, historic sites, lakeshores, seashores, recreation areas, scenic rivers and trails, and the White House. The variety and diversity of park units throughout the nation require a strong commitment to resource stewardship and management to ensure both the protection and enjoyment of these resources for future generations.

Introduction Every unit of the national park system will have a foundational document to provide basic guidance for planning and management decisions—a foundation for planning and management. The core components of a foundation document include a brief description of the park as well as the park’s purpose, significance, fundamental resources and values, other important resources and values, and interpretive themes. The foundation document also includes special mandates and administrative commitments, an assessment of planning and data needs that identifies planning issues, planning products to be developed, and the associated studies and data required for park planning. Along with the core components, the assessment provides a focus for park planning activities and establishes a baseline from which planning documents are developed.

A primary benefit of developing a foundation document is the opportunity to integrate and coordinate all kinds and levels of planning from a single, shared understanding of what is most important about the park. The process of developing a foundation document begins with gathering and integrating information about the park. Next, this information is refined and focused to determine what the most important attributes of the park are. The process of preparing a foundation document aids park managers, staff, and the public in identifying and clearly stating in one document the essential information that is necessary for park management to consider when determining future planning efforts, outlining key planning issues, and protecting resources and values that are integral to park purpose and identity.

While not included in this document, a park atlas is also part of a foundation project. The atlas is a series of maps compiled from available geographic information system (GIS) data on natural and cultural resources, visitor use patterns, facilities, and other topics. It serves as a GIS-based support tool for planning and park operations. The atlas is published as a (hard copy) paper product and as geospatial data for use in a web mapping environment. The park atlas for Everglades National Park can be accessed online at: http://insideparkatlas.nps.gov/.

Part 1: Core Components The core components of a foundation document include a brief description of the park, park purpose, significance statements, fundamental resources and values, other important resources and values, and interpretive themes. These components are core because they typically do not change over time. Core components are expected to be used in future planning and management efforts.

Brief Description of the Park Everglades National Park was authorized by Congress in 1934. Because park lands could be acquired only through public or private donation, land acquisition proceeded slowly over the ensuing years. Through the sustained efforts of many supporters, and critical funding provided by the State of Florida, the park was eventually established 13 years later. President Harry S Truman dedicated the park on December 6, 1947, in Everglades City. Everglades National Park was the first national park in the United States set aside solely for its biological resources rather than its scenic or historic values, and it has received international recognition by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) as a World Heritage Site and an International Biosphere Reserve and by the Ramsar Convention as a Wetland of International Importance.

From the original 460,000 acres at the time of the park’s establishment in 1947, boundary changes expanded the park to 1.4 million acres by 1958. The Everglades National Park Protection and Expansion Act of 1989 added the East Everglades (109,506 acres) part of the park, bringing the Northeast Shark River Slough within the park boundaries. This East Everglades Addition (or the Addition) has provided the cornerstone of long-range planning to restore more natural hydrologic conditions and revitalize wildlife habitat and ecosystem health. The 1989 act also authorized modifications to the Central and Southern Florida Project to restore, to the extent practicable, more natural flows of water into the park, and it included flood protection provisions for adjacent agricultural and residential areas. The State of Florida subsequently donated some 44,000 acres to the park in a series of transfers in 1991, 1993, and 2003. This donation represents more than 40% of lands that comprise the East Everglades Addition. The park now encompasses 1,509,000 acres, including the largest legislated wilderness area (1,296,500 acres) east of the Rocky Mountains.

The park preserves part of the remaining Everglades ecosystem, a vast “River of Grass” that originally extended from its headwaters in the Kissimmee Chain of Lakes through Lake Okeechobee and into the Water Conservation Areas and Everglades National Park, including the coastline of the Gulf of Mexico and Florida Bay. Today, freshwater from the historic River of Grass enters the park at its northern boundary near the Tamiami Trail and flows into a series of local basins with Shark River Slough as the predominant slough. A diverse biological community thrives in the park within an expansive patterned wetland in a subtropical climate. The position of the park at the tip of a seasonally flooded peninsula that is surrounded by a warm Caribbean sea has resulted in the formation of a diverse and unique biological treasure.

Upland areas in the park contain pine rocklands and tropical hardwood hammocks, and both habitats feature a high diversity of plants. Beginning at the coastline, the estuarine system of creeks, lakes, and bays serves as the nursery for marine animals and invertebrates. The coastal mangrove forest is complemented by an expansive wetland ecosystem. Densely populated wading bird rookeries are found on isolated islands in Florida Bay. The islands protect breeding birds from predation but are close enough to the mainland to allow daily flights for foraging in the marshes. Florida Bay, the largest marine body of water within Everglades National Park, contains approximately 393,000 acres, all of which is designated submerged marine wilderness;

that is, the sea floor is under traditional wilderness protection, but the water column is nonwilderness. Much of Florida Bay is covered by submerged vegetation. Seagrass, mud, and macroalgae habitats provide shelter and food for animals, sustaining the bay’s food web. The fish populations of the bay’s seagrass meadows lure anglers from around the world to try their luck with rod and reel.

The health of these communities has been compromised by the historic diversion of water away from the Everglades watershed. Before Everglades National Park was established, the conservation movement inspired some protection of the area’s fauna. Florida Governor William Jennings, with help from the Florida Audubon Society, instituted a ban on wading bird plume hunting in 1900. Later, through efforts of individuals including Ernest Coe, Marjory Stoneman Douglas, and Daniel Beard, the extent of human impacts on the natural resources of the Everglades was recognized and the park’s enabling legislation was passed in 1934.

Since passage of the 1989 act, public concern regarding regional development and ecosystem degradation has galvanized efforts among various governmental and nongovernmental organizations to work toward a balanced and sustainable South Florida ecosystem. Among these efforts, the South Florida Ecosystem Restoration Task Force, a consortium of federal and state agencies, local governments, and tribal representatives, was established by Congress in 1996. Approval of the Comprehensive Everglades Restoration Plan (CERP) in 2000 resulted in unprecedented focus on Everglades National Park and the greater Everglades ecosystem. The Comprehensive Everglades Restoration Plan is led by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the South Florida Water Management District in consultation with ten other state or federal agencies and two sovereign tribal nations. Some of the initial CERP projects have already been planned and built, as have parts of the Modified Water Deliveries project and the Tamiami Trail Modifications project, which are designed to restore and protect the Everglades ecosystem. Some of these efforts are improving the flow of water to the park and the quality of this water. Over the next 30 years, more ambitious CERP and NPS projects will yield further improvements of the park’s hydrology, habitats, food web, and overall function and sustainability of the ecosystem. Restoring and sustaining environmental conditions and communities of the entire Greater Everglades ecosystem, including Florida Bay, is important for the integrity of Everglades National Park and the economy of South Florida.

From initial settlement by American Indian tribes about 6,000 years ago to more recent use of Everglades resources throughout the 20th century, the story of Everglades National Park includes links between natural resources and human use (both historic and prehistoric) of the area. The most meaningful and effective way to understand and appreciate the story of Everglades National Park is through exploration, education, and recreation within the vast subtropical wilderness.

A wide variety of recreational opportunities is available to visitors. Popular activities include wildlife viewing, nature hikes, fishing, camping, bicycling, motor boating, and canoeing. The 99-mile-long Wilderness Waterway that runs through the western part of the park offers outstanding backcountry boating and camping experiences. Five visitor centers and contact stations provide visitors with orientation, interpretation, and educational information and opportunities. The Ernest F. Coe Visitor Center is just inside the main park entrance near Homestead. The Gulf Coast Visitor Center, 5 miles south of Tamiami Trail in Everglades City, serves as the gateway for exploring the Ten Thousand Islands and the park’s western backcountry. The Shark Valley Visitor Center on Tamiami Trail (U.S. Highway 41), about 25 miles west of the Florida Turnpike, is in the heart of the park’s freshwater ecosystem including the Northeast Shark River Slough. The Flamingo Visitor Center, about 38 miles south of the park entrance at the southern end of the Florida peninsula, is the gateway to exploring Florida Bay, Whitewater Bay, and the backcountry. Another important visitor contact site is Royal Palm/ Anhinga Trail. The nonpublic Key Largo Ranger Station / Florida Bay Interagency Science Center provides a presence in the upper keys for park operations, science, and research.

The East Everglades Operation Center in Miami and Loop Road Environmental Education Camp in Big Cypress National Preserve provide additional opportunities for park program development and/or delivery. Partnerships are crucial to the success of the park’s conservation and education mission. The park engages with local, state, and federal agencies; American Indian tribes; and nongovernmental organizations in programs that have importance within and beyond park boundaries.

Park Purpose The purpose statement identifies the specific reason(s) for establishment of a particular park. The purpose statement for Everglades National Park was drafted through a careful analysis of its enabling legislation and the legislative history that influenced its development.

The park was established when the enabling legislation adopted by Congress was signed into law on May 30, 1934 (see appendix A for enabling legislation and subsequent amendments).

The purpose statement lays the foundation for understanding what is most important about the park.

EvErgladEs NatioNal Park preserves the largest subtropical wilderness in the nation, a vast natural area in the southern Everglades and Florida Bay known throughout the world for its unparalleled ecological values, natural hydrologic conditions, vibrant cultural heritage, and unique recreational and educational opportunities.

Park Significance Significance statements express why a park’s resources and values are important enough to merit designation as a unit of the national park system. These statements are linked to the purpose of Everglades National Park, and are supported by data, research, and consensus.

Statements of significance describe the distinctive nature of the park and why an area is important within a global, national, regional, and systemwide context. They focus on the most important resources and values that will assist in park planning and management.

The following significance statements have been identified for Everglades National Park.

(Please note that the sequence of the statements does not reflect the level of significance.)

1. Interconnected Waterways. Everglades National Park is a unique subtropical wetland that is the hydrologic connection between central Florida’s freshwater ecosystem and the coastal systems of Florida Bay and the Gulf of Mexico.

2. Global Designations. As the first national park designated for the protection of biological resources, Everglades National Park is the only place in the United States jointly designated as an International Biosphere Reserve, a World Heritage Site, and a Wetland of International Importance.

3. Wilderness. Everglades National Park contains the largest subtropical wilderness area in North America and the largest legislated wilderness area east of the Rocky Mountains. The park’s legislated wilderness is known as the Marjory Stoneman Douglas Wilderness Area.

4. Natural Wonder. Everglades National Park contains a vast and hydrologically connected ecosystem, with wetland sloughs and prairies, tropical hardwood hammocks, pine rocklands, extensive mangrove estuaries, and Florida Bay with its expansive seagrass meadows. These diverse habitats support a mix of tropical and temperate plants and animals, including iconic species such as the ghost orchid, Florida panther, Cape Sable seaside sparrow, Florida leafwing, American alligator, American crocodile, roseate spoonbill, West Indian manatee, smalltooth sawfish, wood stork, anhinga, snook, and tarpon.

5. Ecosystem Restoration. Everglades National Park includes and protects a large remnant of an endangered, vast, interconnected, and recovering ecosystem that has been impacted by and still faces unprecedented pressure from the regional water management system. Restoration of this ecosystem, considered one of the most endangered in the national park system, is dependent on a globally significant experiment in intergovernmental collaboration.

6. Ecosystem Services. Everglades National Park provides critical ecosystem services, outdoor recreation opportunities, and an enhanced quality of life for the almost 7 million people in South Florida.

7. Avian Significance. Everglades National Park provides important foraging and breeding habitat for more than 400 species of birds, is a significant breeding ground for wading birds in North America, and functions as a primary corridor and refuge for migratory and wintering wildlife populations.

8. Human History. Everglades National Park preserves archeological and historical resources spanning approximately 6,000 years of human history, revealing adaptation to and exploitation and alteration of its unique environment.

9. Ethnographic and Archeological Resources Associated with American Indian Tribes of Florida. Everglades National Park includes natural and cultural resources that are part of the ancestral territory of American Indian tribes of Florida (including the Miccosukee Tribe of Indians of Florida, the Seminole Tribe of Florida, the Seminole Nation of Oklahoma, and other American Indian groups such as the Council of the Original Miccosukee Simanolee Nation Aboriginal Peoples).

10. Recreational Values. Everglades National Park provides the public with the opportunity to experience the Everglades wilderness for recreation, reflection, and solitude in proximity to one of the largest metropolitan areas in the United States.

Fundamental Resources and Values Fundamental resources and values (FRVs) are those features, systems, processes, experiences, stories, scenes, sounds, smells, or other attributes determined to warrant primary consideration during planning and management processes because they are essential to achieving the purpose of the park and maintaining its significance. Fundamental resources and values are closely related to a park’s legislative purpose and are more specific than significance statements.

Fundamental resources and values help focus planning and management efforts on what is truly significant about the park. One of the most important responsibilities of NPS managers is to ensure the conservation and public enjoyment of those qualities that are essential (fundamental) to achieving the purpose of the park and maintaining its significance. If fundamental resources and values are allowed to deteriorate, the park purpose and/or significance could be jeopardized.

The following fundamental resources and values have been identified for Everglades National Park. (Please note that the resources and values are in alphabetical order.)

· Ecological Integrity / Dynamics (Restoration). Everglades National Park is globally renowned for its physical and biological characteristics. The ecological functions of the park and of South Florida have, however, been massively altered by water diversions across basins, channelizing water flow into canals, draining areas to allow development, and establishing flood control structures. Resulting water flows are reduced and insufficient to maintain ecological integrity. Restoration efforts within the park including fire and nonnative species management and the ecosystemwide Comprehensive Everglades Restoration Project seek to establish a new balance between natural protection and urban or agricultural development and address the entire Everglades watershed, including Everglades National Park.

· Ecosystem / Landscape Diversity. Everglades National Park’s position within the transition zone between tropical and temperate climates has produced a diverse biological community. Three soil types—rockland, marl, and peat—are present within the park. Major community types in the park include coastal and estuarine communities, mangrove forests, coastal salt marshes, coastal prairies, freshwater sloughs, marl prairies, pine rocklands, hardwood hammocks, and cypress swamps.

· Ethnographic Resources. Everglades National Park protects places important for subsistence, spiritual, and ceremonial purposes including sites associated with events, beliefs, and traditional stories of indigenous people. The lifeways of American Indians including the Calusa, Tequesta, Seminoles, and Miccosukees can be seen in large-scale architectural shell works, shell tools, carved wood, and long-distance canoe trails.

· Functioning Hydrologic System. Everglades National Park protects part of the Greater Everglades, the largest freshwater marsh in the United States. In the previous century, the hydrologic system of South Florida was drastically altered from its natural state to that of a highly managed system. The majority of the freshwater that historically flowed to the south was diverted to the ocean by a network of canals. Natural patterns of water quantity, quality, timing, and distribution are critical to the health of the Everglades ecosystem that supports the myriad plant and animal species within the park, including Florida Bay.

· Human History. A rich human story of the Everglades is deeply interwoven with its marshes, dense mangroves, towering palms, alligator holes, and tropical fauna. Various groups and people have navigated through and wrestled with the watery landscape to make it home. The cultural resources of Everglades National Park represent past and present lifeways of American Indians who existed and thrived in this environment.

Other people associated with the area include Florida pioneers and settlers, as well as the people and groups who advocated for eventual conservation and restoration of the area. Noteworthy historical aspects of the Everglades include its role in 19th and 20th century U.S. military efforts, the drainage and alteration of the region for the growth of the South Florida population and economy, and the work to preserve and restore its wetland ecosystem, work that continues today.

· Native Plants and Animals. The diverse ecosystem of the Everglades includes habitats ranging from Caribbean tropical to temperate North American, making it possible for a vast array of native plants and animals to exist in the park. The wide diversity of plants and plant communities in the park are distinctive in the continental United States and on a global scale. There are 52 reptiles, 238 fish, and 21 amphibian species not commonly observed in other units of the national park system. Approximately 1,030 plant species can be found in the park including prominent and colorful bromeliads and 39 native orchid species. The sawgrass that makes up much of the prairies in the Everglades is one of the oldest green plants in the world. Charismatic wildlife within the park includes alligators, crocodiles, Florida panthers, wood storks, and manatees.

A total of 20 species of plants, birds, reptiles, mammals, and fish within the park are federally listed or proposed for listing as threatened, endangered, or species of concern.

· Public Enjoyment. The diverse habitats of the park offer visitors a wide range of activities including canoeing, kayaking, boating, fresh and saltwater fishing, biking, hiking, unparalleled wildlife and bird viewing, photography, astronomy, and camping in the expansive wilderness. Visitors value the park for its quiet and peaceful terrain and the prospect of finding solitude among the mangroves or in the River of Grass. The numerous water trails throughout the park allow visitors to explore the park’s extensive backcountry by motorboat, canoe, or kayak. The coastal environments of Florida Bay and Ten Thousand Islands provide excellent boating and fishing options for those seeking solitude and adventure.

· Wilderness Character. In the 1978 legislation, more than 92% of Everglades National Park was designated as wilderness, and in 1997 this area was named the Marjory Stoneman Douglas Wilderness. It is the largest legislated wilderness area (1,296,500 acres, with another 81,900 acres identified as potential wilderness) east of the Rocky Mountains. The submerged marine (marine waters) portion of the Marjory Stoneman Douglas Wilderness, approximately 530,000 acres in extent, is unusual in that it includes the marine bottom (benthic surface) but not the water column or the water surface. The 2015 East Everglades Wilderness Study proposed designation of an additional 42,200 acres as wilderness and the eventual designation of another 43,100 acres of potential wilderness, which would ensure that most of the area would be permanently protected and managed to preserve its natural quality from an ecosystem perspective. The park’s undeveloped lands, inland waters, and coastal marine habitats offer exceptional opportunities to experience solitude, natural sounds, night skies, unobstructed views, and primitive recreation.

Other Important Resources and Values Everglades National Park contains other resources and values that are not fundamental to the purpose of the park and may be unrelated to its significance, but are important to consider in planning processes. These are referred to as “other important resources and values” (OIRV).

These resources and values have been selected because they are important in the operation and management of the park and warrant special consideration in park planning.

The following other important resources and values have been identified for Everglades National Park:

· Ecosystem Services Including Economic Values. As part of the Greater Everglades ecosystem, Everglades National Park provides important services to humans including support to agriculture, fisheries, urban communities, and recreation. The hydrologic and ecosystem processes filter pollutants and excess nutrients for domestic water supplies, replenish aquifers, reduce flooding, irrigate farm lands, support fish nurseries, and provide recreational opportunities that support a large tourism-based economy.

Everglades National Park regularly welcomes approximately one million visitors annually who spent over $90 million in communities near the park. That spending typically supports over 1,300 jobs in the local area. In addition, broader economic studies of South Florida highlight the importance of the multi-billion-dollar tourism industry, of which the park plays an important role across three counties.

· Historic Buildings and Structures. Historic structures within the park include the Old Ingraham Highway and associated structures; Nike Missile Base Site HM-69;

Flamingo and other Mission 66 buildings, structures, and cultural landscapes; East Everglades hunting camps; historic roads; Anhinga Trail; Civilian Conservation Corps-era ruins; and aircraft remains.

· Museum Collection. Everglades National Park’s museum collection consists of more than 3.4 million objects, archival documents and photographs, and specimens.

The largest element of the collection is the archives, totaling more than 2.6 million items. The collection also includes more than 88,000 biological specimens, including mollusks, birds, insects, reptiles, amphibians, mammals, and a large herbarium of plants collected in the park. More than 675,000 objects have been recovered from more than 300 archeological sites in the park.

Interpretive Themes Interpretive themes are often described as the key stories or concepts that visitors should understand after visiting a park—they define the most important ideas or concepts communicated to visitors about a park unit. Themes are derived from, and should reflect, park purpose, significance, resources, and values. The set of interpretive themes is complete when it provides the structure necessary for park staff to develop opportunities for visitors to explore and relate to all park significance statements and fundamental and other important resources and values.

Interpretive themes are an organizational tool that reveal and clarify meaning, concepts, contexts, and values represented by park resources. Sound themes are accurate and reflect current scholarship and science. They encourage exploration of the context in which events or natural processes occurred and the effects of those events and processes. Interpretive themes go beyond a mere description of the event or process to foster multiple opportunities to experience and consider the park and its resources. These themes help explain why a park story is relevant to people who may otherwise be unaware of connections they have to an event, time, or place associated with the park.

The following interpretive themes have been identified for Everglades National Park:

· Everglades National Park serves as a dynamic laboratory for innovative scientific investigations that identify, monitor, and build understanding of a vast and changing array of fragile and unique resources. The results of scientific research inform good environmental decision-making in the Everglades ecosystem and serve as a model for using science for managing ecosystems throughout the world.

· The water-dominated landscape of the Everglades has offered myriad experiences, challenges, and opportunities to humans who have inhabited this place for the last 6,000 years.

· The Everglades landscape is of great cultural importance to distinct groups of past and present people. Historically, these parklands served as a home, a source of abundant natural and cultural resources, and a place of refuge. Today, they serve as a reminder of past and present challenges, trials, and injustices.

· The greater Everglades ecosystem is the liquid heart of South Florida, where the seasonal ebb and flow of water over unique geography defines the environment, supports the region’s web of life, and challenges humans to comprehend their relationship to nature and wilderness.

· Everglades National Park provides an opportunity for people to understand and experience the value of a diverse wilderness in proximity to extensive development.

The park’s designation as a World Heritage Site, an International Biosphere Reserve, and a Wetland of International Importance attests to its importance as a benchmark for monitoring environmental impact and change.

· The diverse habitats and protected status of Everglades National Park, both temperate and tropical, demonstrate the park’s value as an important sanctuary in an increasingly urbanized landscape for wild animals, plants, and birds. Species, from those most common to those highly endangered, reveal life histories that are intimately tied to natural cycles of abundance, flood, fire, frost, hurricane, drought, life, and death.

Part 2: Dynamic Components The dynamic components of a foundation document include special mandates and administrative commitments and an assessment of planning and data needs. These components are dynamic because they will change over time. New special mandates can be established and new administrative commitments made. As conditions and trends of fundamental and other important resources and values change over time, the analysis of planning and data needs will need to be revisited and revised, along with key issues. Therefore, this part of the foundation document will be updated accordingly.

Special Mandates and Administrative Commitments Many management decisions for a park unit are directed or influenced by special mandates and administrative commitments with other federal agencies, state and local governments, utility companies, partnering organizations, and other entities. Special mandates are requirements specific to a park that must be fulfilled. Mandates can be expressed in enabling legislation, in separate legislation following the establishment of the park, or through a judicial process. They may expand on park purpose or introduce elements unrelated to the purpose of the park. Administrative commitments are, in general, agreements that have been reached through formal, documented processes, often through memorandums of agreement.

Examples include easements, rights-of-way, arrangements for emergency service responses, etc. Special mandates and administrative commitments can support, in many cases, a network of partnerships that help fulfill the objectives of the park and facilitate working relationships with other organizations. They are an essential component of managing and planning for Everglades National Park.

Special Mandates

· 16 USC Note (Miccosukee Reserved Area Act). The purposes of this act are: (1) to replace the special use permit with a legal framework under which the tribe can live permanently and govern their own affairs in a modern community within the park, and

(2) to protect the park outside the Miccosukee Reserved Area from adverse effects of structures or activities within that area, and to support restoration of the South Florida ecosystem, including restoring the environment of the park.

· 16 USC 410b Administration and Development. The provisions of the Federal Power Act (16 USC 791a et seq.) shall not apply to this park. Furthermore nothing in sections 410 to 410c of 16 USC 410 shall be construed to lessen any existing rights of the Seminole Indians that are not in conflict with the purposes for which the Everglades National Park is created.

· 16 USC 410c Preservation of Primitive Conditions. Everglades National Park shall be permanently reserved as a wilderness, and no development project or plan for the entertainment of visitors shall be undertaken that will interfere with the preservation intact of the unique flora and fauna and the essential primitive natural conditions now prevailing in this area.

· 16 USC 410n Drainage of Lands and Rights-of-Way. Unless the Secretary, after notice and opportunity for hearing, shall find that the same is seriously detrimental to the preservation and propagation of the flora or fauna of Everglades National Park, he shall permit such drainage through the natural waterways of the park and the construction, operation, and maintenance of artificial works for conducting water thereto as is required for the reclamation by the State of Florida or any political subdivision thereof or any drainage district organized under its laws of lands lying easterly of the eastern boundary of the park.

(S)He shall grant said permission, however, only after a master plan for the drainage of said lands has been approved by the State of Florida and after finding that the approved plan has engineering feasibility and is so designed as to minimize disruptions of the natural state of the park. Any right-of-way granted pursuant to this section shall be revocable upon breach of the conditions upon which it is granted, which conditions shall also be enforceable in any other appropriate manner, and the grantee shall be obligated to remove its improvements and to restore the land occupied by it to its previous condition in the event of such revocation.

· 16 USC 410r Rules and Regulations for Lands Acquired as Part of the Park. All lands and submerged lands title to which is accepted by the Secretary of the Interior shall, upon the acceptance of title thereto, become parts of the Everglades National Park and shall be subject to all laws and regulations applicable thereto.

· 16 USC 410r-7 (b) Protection of Ecosystem. The Secretary shall manage the park in order to maintain the natural abundance, diversity, and ecological integrity of native plants and animals, as well as the behavior of native animals, as a part of their ecosystem.

· 16 USC 410r-7 (c) Private Airboating. The park shall be closed to the operation of airboats . . . except that within a limited capacity and on designated routes within the addition, owners of record of registered airboats in use within the addition as of January 1, 1989, shall be issued nontransferable, nonrenewable permits, for their individual lifetimes, to operate personally owned airboats for noncommercial use in accordance with rules prescribed by the Secretary (of the Interior) to determine ownership and registration, establish uses, permit conditions, and penalties, and to protect the biological resources of the area.

· 16 USC 410r-7 (d) Commercial Airboating. The Secretary is authorized to negotiate and enter into concession contracts with the owners of commercial airboat and tour facilities in existence on or before January 1, 1989, located within the (East Everglades Addition) for the provision of such services at their current locations under such rules and conditions as (s)he may deem necessary for the accommodation of visitors and the protection of biological resources of the area.

· 16 USC 410r-7 (e) Marjory Stoneman Douglas Visitor Center. The Secretary is authorized and directed to expedite the construction of the visitor center facility at Everglades City, Florida, as described in the Development Concept Plan, Gulf Coast, dated February 1989, and upon construction shall designate the visitor center facility as “The Marjory Stoneman Douglas Center” in commemoration of the vision and leadership shown by Mrs. Douglas in the protection of the Everglades and Everglades National Park.

· 16 USC 410r-7 (f) Ernest F. Coe Visitor Center. On completion of construction of the main visitor center facility at the headquarters of Everglades National Park, the Secretary shall designate the visitor center facility as the “Ernest F. Coe Visitor Center,” to commemorate the vision and leadership shown by Mr. Coe in the establishment and protection of Everglades National Park.

· 16USC 410r-8 (a) Improved Water Deliverables. Upon completion of a final report by the Chief of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, the Secretary of the Army, in consultation with the Secretary, is authorized and directed to construct modifications to the Central and Southern Florida Project to improve water deliveries into the park and shall, to the extent practicable, take steps to restore the natural hydrological conditions within the park.

· 16 USC 410r-9 (a) Boundary Revision to Include Tarpon Basin Property.

Authorizes a boundary revision to include the nearly 600-acre Tarpon Basin parcel (Tarpon Basin) in Key Largo, Florida. Land added to Everglades National Park by this section shall be administered as part of Everglades National Park in accordance with applicable laws [including regulations].

· 16 USC 1132 Designated Wilderness. In 1978, a 1,296,500-acre designated wilderness area that includes land, freshwater, and submerged marine areas was established within Everglades National Park and included another 81,900 acres identified as potential wilderness; the wilderness was originally named “Everglades Wilderness” (National Parks and Recreation Act of 1978). The name of the wilderness area was later changed to “Marjory Stoneman Douglas Wilderness” (Marjory Stoneman Douglas Wilderness and Ernest F. Coe Visitor Center Designation Act of 1997).

· 33 CFR Part 385 Programmatic Regulations for the Comprehensive Everglades Restoration Plan. The purpose of the programmatic regulations is to ensure that the goals and purposes of the Comprehensive Everglades Restoration Plan are achieved and to establish the processes necessary for implementing the plan.

· PL 106-541 Sec. 601 Comprehensive Everglades Restoration Plan (2000). The plan was approved as a framework for modifications and operational changes to the Central and Southern Florida Project that are needed to restore, preserve, and protect the South Florida ecosystem while providing for other water-related needs of the region, including water supply and flood protection. The plan shall be implemented to ensure the protection of water quality in, the reduction of the loss of fresh water from, and the improvement of the environment of the South Florida ecosystem and to achieve and maintain the benefits to the natural system (including Everglades National Park) and human environment described in the plan.

· Florida’s Everglades Forever Act. Florida legislation was enacted in 1994 to maintain and restore the ecosystem of the Everglades.

· Section 403.061(27) Florida Statutes. Grants the Department of Environmental Protection the power to establish rules that provide for a special category of waterbodies within the state, to be referred to as “Outstanding Florida Waters,” which shall be worthy of special protection because of their natural attributes. Everglades waterbodies are listed as Outstanding Florida Waters.

Administrative Commitments For information about the existing administrative commitments for Everglades National Park, please see appendix B.

Assessment of Planning and Data Needs Once the core components of part 1 of the foundation document have been identified, it is important to gather and evaluate existing information about the park’s fundamental and other important resources and values, and develop a full assessment of the park’s planning and data needs. The assessment of planning and data needs section presents planning issues, the planning projects that will address these issues, and the associated information requirements for planning, such as resource inventories and data collection, including GIS data.

There are three sections in the assessment of planning and data needs:

1. analysis of fundamental and other important resources and values

2. identification of key issues and associated planning and data needs

3. identification of planning and data needs (including spatial mapping activities or GIS maps)

The analysis of fundamental and other important resources and values and identification of key issues leads up to and supports the identification of planning and data collection needs.

Analysis of Fundamental Resources and Values The fundamental resource or value analysis table includes current conditions, potential threats and opportunities, planning and data needs, and selected laws and NPS policies related to management of the identified resource or value.

Fundamental Resource or Value

Ecological Integrity / Dynamics (Restoration)

Related Significance Statements

Significance statements 1, 2, 4, 5, 6, and 7

Current Conditions and Trends

Conditions

• The Everglades is a World Heritage Site, an International Biosphere Reserve, and a

Wetland of International Importance and is the only natural system in North America that is listed as endangered

• The large intact ecosystems of the park contribute to its iconic status These include one of the largest contiguous mangrove forests in the world; one of the largest stands of seagrass beds; and one of the largest standing/remaining pine rocklands in the world

• Because they are high and dry, pinelands have been a magnet for development since the earliest days of settlement More than 98% of South Florida’s pinelands have been lost, and the park is host to the largest remaining stand

• Natural processes in the park have been significantly altered by the regional water management system, and some components of the East Everglades Addition lands were severely impacted prior to being added to Everglades National Park in 1989

• Ecological systems have been impacted by a lack of freshwater, saltwater intrusion, nutrient enrichment, mercury contamination, nonnative plants and animals, and compartmentalization (i e , physical barriers or land use development features that impact natural flows and conditions) of the greater ecosystem outside of the park These continue to present barriers to restoring ecosystem integrity

• Florida Bay has a history of highly variable water quality conditions, with algal bloom episodes that can last from weeks to even years The last period of extended blooms was between 2005 and 2007

• The park is working with partnerships to correct external conditions affecting the park’s ecosystem integrity (e g , compartmentalization)

• The spatial extent and connectivity of natural areas in the Greater Everglades Ecosystem is increasing

• The level of disturbance in the ecosystem is not visible or immediately apparent to most visitors People are acclimated to the current conditions and do not fully perceive an unnatural or altered state

• The park contains some of the strongest remaining reservoirs of threatened and endangered species

• Robust datasets exist because of the resource issues and restoration efforts

Trends

• Ecosystem conditions are stabilizing but not necessarily improving across all ecosystem components The park remains a fragile ecosystem, with a need for improved resilience

• Saltwater intrusion and sea level rise are increasing Effects may not be apparent over the next five years but in the long term it will be a significant threat The rate is increasing due to climate change

• Urban population and development pressures surround the park and continue to adversely affect park resources

• Restoration initiatives are beginning to have measureable benefits in the park

• Some positive trends are occurring: the alligator populations have increased since 1985;

crocodiles in the park have improved significantly since canal plugs were installed in 2002; certain wading bird species, particularly white ibis, have had upward trends in number of nesting pairs since 2010; nutrient levels have decreased and water quality has improved

Fundamental Resource or Value

Ecological Integrity / Dynamics (Restoration)

Current Conditions and Trends

Trends (continued)

• National attention on the park’s issues is leading to greater awareness, and the world is looking at the Everglades ecosystem restoration efforts and how water is being brought to the park

• Restoration actions within the park are positively affecting ecological integrity The former agricultural lands in the Hole-in-the-Donut are improving A total of 4,895 acres of rock-crushed soils have been removed, hydrology has been restored, herbaceous-dominated wetlands have been restored, and nonnative species are below the 1% cover threshold where soil has been removed

• Marl prairies have increased in the park as a result of lack of water

• Unnaturally intense fires or the absence of fires negatively impact pine rocklands, tree islands, marsh soils, and wetland vegetation

Threats and Opportunities

Threats

• Continued long-term urban population growth and development

• Loss of freshwater marsh due to saltwater intrusion

• Damage to seagrass habitat and fauna (especially sponges) by algal blooms lasting for more than several months

• Sea level rise that will exacerbate the impact of storms on park resources The frequency of nuisance flooding may result in a faster rate of plant succession from freshwater to saltwater species

• Sea-level rise and saltwater intrusion could accelerate the loss of Everglades soils, marsh elevation (by erosion and biological processes)…